For many students, choosing their secondary school subjects can feel like a daunting decision. While some naturally gravitate toward creative fields like art and design, others may not realise how these subjects connect with broader academic disciplines like maths, science, and engineering.
One powerful way to spark curiosity and encourage students to engage with creative subjects is through hands-on architectural workshops. By blending problem-solving, design thinking, and real-world applications, these workshops help students see how subjects they might not have considered—like art —are both relevant and exciting.
Using Architecture to Help Bring Learning to Life
Imagine being given a brief to design and build your own personal shelter—a space created just for you, tailored to your needs and interests. That was the challenge set for a group of Year 8 students in a recent architecture workshop.
At first, the idea of designing a structure seem distant from academia, but as students explored the challenge, they realised how architecture draws upon art, maths, and science, and quickly understood that they already had many of the skills needed to bring their ideas to life.
Before jumping into the design process, students experimented with different structural techniques, using simple materials like card and paper to test out their ideas. They explored:
Folded and slotted structures – understanding how shape and form affect stability.
Modular origami and geometric design – discovering how maths plays a role in art and architecture.
Box nets and transforming polyhedra – exploring the link between two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional structures.
This hands-on approach helped the students understand that architecture isn’t just about buildings—it’s about creativity, problem-solving, and applying knowledge from multiple subjects to solve their own real-world problems.
Unlocking Creativity and Confidence
As students developed their designs, their ideas became increasingly imaginative. Their shelters took on unique purposes, including:
🌞 A garden sun trap for relaxing outdoors.🎮 A gaming pod for ultimate focus and comfort.🔭 A star-gazing shelter designed to open up to the night sky.🎨 A creative studio space for drawing and painting.
Seeing students growing engagement and enthusiasm as they refined their ideas and solved design challenges was proof of the power of creativity in education. They weren’t just drawing plans—they were making decisions, testing materials, and figuring out how to turn ideas into reality.
When it came time to scale up their designs, students worked together in teams, calculating materials, measuring components, and assembling full-scale models using Correx sheets and bolts. The workshop wasn’t just about individual creativity—it also fostered collaboration, communication, and hands-on problem-solving.
How Architecture Encourages Students to Choose Art and Design
Many students finish a workshop like this with a newfound appreciation for art and design—even those who didn’t initially see themselves as “creative.” Architecture sits at the intersection of art, maths, and science, showing students that creativity isn’t just about drawing or painting; it’s about thinking, exploring, and innovating.
By participating in architectural workshops, students gain:
✔️ A deeper connection to academic subjects – seeing how maths and science contribute to creative solutions.✔️ Increased confidence in their creative abilities – realising that they can generate and execute original ideas.✔️ A clearer understanding of potential career paths – discovering how art and design connect to fields like engineering, sustainability, and urban planning.
For schools looking to encourage more students to choose creative subjects, architectural workshops provide a perfect opportunity to bridge the gap between disciplines and make learning hands-on and engaging.
In the end, education should inspire students to see possibilities—and sometimes, all it takes is a well-placed design challenge to help them realise the value of creativity in their future.
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